Jabal Omar losses widen on hotel closures in Makkah

Jabal Omar is spearheading a vast redevelopment of land around the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (Supplied)

• Construction work extends across two square kilometers where some 40 towers are at various stages of development.

DUBAI: Jabal Omar Development Co. reported a widening first-quarter loss as hotels in Makkah were forced to close amid the pandemic.
The developer that is spearheading the vast redevelopment of land around the Grand Mosque in the holy city, said losses widened by 45 percent to SR345.3 million ($92 million). Sales fell 89 percent to SR21.6 million, it said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.
It blamed the performance on the “significant decline in revenues due to the decrease in the occupancy rate of hotels and commercial malls.”
At the same time its financial charges rose due to the non-capitalization of borrowing costs, it said in the filing.
Saudi Arabia is investing billions of dollars to develop hotels, malls and other real estate in Makkah to accommodate the expected surge in pilgrims.
Current construction work extends across two square kilometers where some 40 towers are at various stages of development.
They are expected to accommodate some 4,000 guests on any normal day, and up to 100,000 visitors on any given day during the Hajj and Umrah seasons.